Mourning the Six Deaths in Tucson

As a way to begin grieving the shootings yesterday in Tucson, Arizona, tonight I spent time getting to know a little something about each one of the six people who were killed on the New York Times web page that identifies them. The two that are most affected me emotionally are the 9 year old girl, Christina Green, born on 9/11, and Rep. Giffords staffer, Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, who was engaged to be married. I admired Dorwan Stoddard who pulled his wife to the ground and shielded her with his body. I hope I would do just the same thing if I was in that situation.

This morning, in my congregation, I heard anger directed at conservatives for creating the heated rhetorical climate that enables mentally unstable people like the shooter to act on their delusions. From the evidence available, this was clearly a premeditated assassination attempt. I’m very tempted to go there because of the shootings a year and a half ago in Tennessee in a Unitarian Universalist church by a shooter also influenced by extreme talk radio hosts and the books they had written.

But it is way too soon to make such accusations. We don’t know who Jared Lee Loughner is and what motivated him. All we know is he was an angry young man who showed signs of mental illness.

So I’m holding my tongue about why this happened and who might or might not be to blame. As anti-gun as I am, and I’m deeply concerned about any civilian getting their hands on the kind of gun this fellow had, I’m even holding my tongue about that.

Right now, I’m focused on grieving the loss of life and the injuries that Loughner caused. I’m grieving we live in a world that has weapons that can create this kind of destruction. I grieve whatever happened or didn’t happen as Loughner was growing up to shape him into the kind of person who would commit an act like this. I grieve for Loughner’s family because their lives have just been completely destroyed by his actions. I grieve any amplification of anger of one side against another that this violence may create.

I pray for those who have died, for those who were injured, for those affected, for their friends and relatives who grieve them. Yet in our time of grief, let us be thankful that this kind of political violence is fairly rare in this country. Something rather surprising given how many guns are in people’s hands.

May this rampage move us toward greater civility and calm the tone of political language. What we are fighting about with words are strategies to build a stronger America. Liberals and conservatives have the same goals, just different ways to get there.

Sam Trumbore

8 Responses

Months ago when Sarah Palin launched her “Take Back the 20” campaign, showing a map with crosshairs marking target areas, and her ‘Don’t Retreat, Instead – RELOAD!’ statement; my husband and I mentioned that our school kids are held to a higher standard than our politicians. We teach and enforce anti-violence in our schools yet our political parties get more and more aggressive. There is much to be learned from this tragedy.

I agree that our first response should be to mourn the victims of this tragedy. After shock and sadness, my own personal response is frustration over why this type of in-humane action can not be stopped when these type of actions are uniformily condemned by everyone.

The “don’t retreat, instead – RELOAD” language doesn’t encourage civil conversation. I hope the children being raised today with anti-violence sentiments will change politics when they grow up. Schools tolerate much less violence than when I was growing up!

Rev Sam, society allows children to play the most violent and outrageous video games, watch the most violent and otrageous movies and listen to the most violent and outrageous rap music an the world.
Not to mention making heros out of them, with lyrics of mayhen, cop killing, raping and anarchy. Do you really believe that the small amount of time spent at school has more effect than all that?

Here a small list of Obama quotes:
* Obama: “They Bring a Knife…We Bring a Gun”
*Obama to His Followers: “Get in Their Faces!”
*Obama on ACORN Mobs: “I don’t want to quell anger. I think people are right to be angry! I’m angry!”
*Obama to His Mercenary Army: “Hit Back Twice As Hard”
*Obama on the private sector: “We talk to these folks… so I know whose ass to kick.“
*Obama to voters: Republican victory would mean “hand to hand combat”
*Obama to lib supporters: “It’s time to Fight for it.”
*Obama to Latino supporters: “Punish your enemies.”
*Obama to democrats: “I’m itching for a fight.”

Not to mention the anti-American hate rhetoric of rev Wright, Dhorn and Ayers etc etc etc…

Expressing anger and outrage often leads to violent imagery and metaphor in speeches on both sides. This shooting episode can be a caution against that tendency, given we know it stirs up the paranoid folks. Leaders should use the language of persuasion rather than the language of force. Identifying common values and reasoning from them is more likely to change hearts than demonizing one’s opponents. This is what made Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. so effective.

I thought the president’s speech last night was fantastic and hearing about the response to it gave me hope for this country. I still think the main focus to come out of this should be on gun control. Yes, I know “Jakester” that he could have used a car etc, but MOST of the time these killers do not.